Onscreen, Bee’s domestic pampering provided the perfect complement to Andy’s fatherly gravitas and Barney’s childlike vulnerability. A consummate professional, Bavier played her part to perfection and became the only Griffith cast member other than Knotts to win an Emmy for her work, in 1967. Perhaps the only cast member who didn’t appreciate the frivolity was Frances Bavier, the veteran New York actress who played Aunt Bee. Griffith ran the Griffith Show set like a big ole family picnic, joining his cast-mates in song, dance, laughter and general merriment when the camera was off. Had they known what electricity the couple would spark, surely they would have chosen a more alluring name than Helen Crump. Producer Aaron Ruben took him aside afterward and said, “Hal, this might develop into quite a part for you.” In season three, actress Aneta Corsaut so impressed producers as Opie’s earnest schoolteacher that they developed her character into Andy’s steady girlfriend. Likewise, when Hal Smith arrived to play the part of town inebriate Otis Campbell in the second Andy Griffith episode, “Manhunt,” he was assured of only a single appearance. For Don, that changed after the very first day of shooting: Executive Producer Sheldon Leonard was so moved by the chemistry between Andy and Don that he offered the deputy a one-year deal, later lengthened to five years. Several beloved characters, including Barney Fife himself, joined the ensemble without a firm offer of continued employment. Photo: CBS Photo Archive/Getty Images Don might have lasted just one episodeįew Andy Griffith cast members arrived in Mayberry with contracts in hand. They bronzed it and returned it to Andy at the season’s end.Īndy Griffith and Don Knotts shoot their first scene on 'The Andy Griffith Show.' The production was supposed to revolve around Andy but once producers saw the magic between Andy and Don, they set about reordering the show around their relationship. Some of the high jinks came at Andy’s expense: Once, the cast made off with one of Andy’s moccasins, forcing him to go home wearing his Andy Taylor wardrobe shoes. George “Goober” Lindsey once awoke from his own slumber to find Andy had strung duck guts around the dressing room. He sometimes interrupted Don’s nap by dropping a metal film canister onto the floor. For all his manic on-screen energy, Don Knotts was surprisingly dignified and reserved off-camera, and Andy delighted in shattering his friend’s calm. In fact, Andy teased Don daily simply by calling him “Jess,” which was short for Jesse, Don’s first name, because he knew Don didn’t like it. And he loved to stage practical jokes, particularly when they targeted Don Knotts. Andy loved practical jokesĪs the undisputed boss of the Griffith Show, Andy Griffith set a festive, frolicsome tone. (In the decades that followed, Clint went on to play roles in “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Star Trek: Enterprise,” and “Star Trek: Discovery” as well.Andy and Don: The Making of a Friendship and a Classic American TV Show by Daniel de Visé. It looks as if Balok really does relish his tranya. But his distaste for the warm, sour juice made the scene work better, he recalls, since “I take only a gentleman’s sip, as a true connoisseur of a fine brandy or liqueur would. Clint wasn’t as successful at getting out of drinking the room-temperature grapefruit juice used to simulate “tranya,” a beverage the alien offers to the starship’s officers. Instead, at his father’s suggestion, a makeup man outfitted him with a latex skullcap. A bit boldly, Clint declined, imagining that he would be teased by other kids and miss other chances to act while his hair grew back. When Clint was cast as the child-sized alien leader Balok in a 1966 episode titled “The Corbomite Manuever,” producers asked his father if the 7-year-old would mind having his head shaved for the role. “Star Trek” producers wanted to shave Clint’s head for his role as an adult alien.
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